As a longtime Perkins supporter, I'm quite frankly shocked, to say the least, at some of the Perk comments here.
With that being said, Perk's perfect storm would be if he had KG to play alongsides, IMO.
He is STILL a top 5-Defensive Center in the game.
I'm betting that he'd still average 10 pts, 9-10 rebs if he still played alongside KG.
But Kendrick Perkins is just NOT as bad as some here are stating.
I have stated on here numerous times that all the advanced metrics place Perkins squarely on the bottom of the NBA totem pole as far as Centers are concerned. Now, many people don't believe those numbers, or say that they don't take into effect what a player like Perkins is (supposedly) good at: man defense, setting picks, intimidation, being a teammate...
But the Celtics evaluate players using those statistics, like the Red Sox use advanced metrics for their player assessments. The Celtics were one of the first franchises to really value these analyses for player evaluation.
There is no doubt in my mind that Danny and his staff concluded, using their deep knowledge of everything that is Perkins' game, that he is really not that good of an NBA center. In my opinion they are correct, and the numbers back them up.
Factor in that Danny had to believe this year was KG's last year with the Celtics - even if you believe Perkins is a good player next to KG, that combo would only be viable for one more year and Perkins was going to get a multi-year deal somewhere. Then factor in that there was a good chance we didn't have a season at all this year due to the lockup, and add into it the uncertainty about the CBA and whether sign-and-trades would even be allowed anymore...and you see exactly why Danny made the move that he did. It was the right move to make, and although Jeff Green hasn't panned out yet, we still have ample time to evaluate our end of the deal.
OKC, on the other hand, knows exactly what they got. I have stated many times here that Perkins' contract will be amnestied this year. The only reason it would not be terminated is if OKC doesn't really benefit cap-wise from the move. But I cannot imagine that Sam Presti is going to go forward and pay Perkins the $7-$8M he is owed next year while he is putting up numbers that rank at the very bottom of the league for center productivity.
I understood the trade for Perkins from OKC's standpoint. They needed a defensive center with a big body for what they perceived their roadblock to the Finals to be: the Gasol/Bynum combo on the Lakers. That will not be necessary going forward into 2013 and beyond. Combine that with Perkins' horrendous output on the offensive end of the floor and he becomes and total financial liability playing on a reconstructed knee.
So in short, I was incredibly supportive of the trade last year, am still incredibly supportive of the trade, and I feel bad for Perkins because he may not receive the bulk of the $36M he was extended for by OKC.
